The word Dacoity is the anglicized version of the Indian word dakaitee (डकैती or ڈکیتی or ডাকাতি) which comes from Dakoo (डाकू or ڈاکو, meaning "armed robber") or Dakat (ডাকাত).

• Dacoity (Hindi: डकैती, Urdu: ڈکیتی, Bangla: ডাকাতি, dakaitee) means armed robbery.
• Dacoit (Hindi: डकैत, Urdu: ڈکیت, Bangla: ডাকাত, dakait) means a bandit. According to OED ("A member of a class of robbers in India and Burmah, who plunder in armed bands.") dacoits existed in Burmah as well as India, and Rudyard Kipling's fictional Private Mulvaney was hunting Burmese "dacoits" in The Taking of Lungtungpen. The term was also applied, according to OED, to "pirates who formerly infested the Ganges between Calcutta and Burhampore".

The most infamous member of the Dacoit "profession" was probably India's Phoolan Devi. But the title of the most legendary dacoit is held by Daku Man Singh and Nirbhay Singh Gujjar who was killed recently. Between 1939 and 1955, Daku Man Singh had notched up 1,112 dacoities, 185 murders, countless ransom kidnappings. He was involved in 90 police encounters and had killed 32 policemen.

In recent times, Veerappan became one of the most famous who was on the run for 20 years.

In the Madhya Pradesh district, women belonging to a village defense group have been issued gun permits to fend off Dacoity. The Chief Minister of the district, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, recognized the role the women had played in defending their villages without guns. He stated that he wanted to enable these women to better defend both themselves and their villages, and issued the gun permits to advance this goal.

See also

• Indian robbers

References

External links

• As modern world closes in, India's fabled bandits are disappearing - International Herald Tribune